Home coming
by GeekyMama
Summary: Rating for safety, Not a romance ficcy and I dont own teen titans Chapter 8 up and running! Slade revealed! and a few other minor occorences not a major chapter plot wise but please R
1. Default Chapter

A/N There will be no pairings in this story, its just a idea I had and I hope everyone likes please R&R, well I may do a bit of BB terra later on but don't look for robin to pair with anyone raven either

Nightwing stood atop the towering skyscraper overlooking Jump City, it had been years ago that he passed the torch of being Robin to the vibrant youth known as Tim, who now accompanied batman on his adventures, The Teen Titans, had not disbanded however they were no more, about the same time as Robin became Nightwing, The Teen Titans became simply known as The Titans, a fitting transformation almost a right of passage for them all, no longer were they looked upon as merely youthful crime fighters. They were now regarded as a legitimate organization of their own, they even has another branch known as Titans East that was located on the outskirts of the city, yes everything was working out ok for all of them, but no matter how happy they all were they still missed Starfire. The Tamaranian princess had been called back to her home planet due to a civil war, which due to luck or chance was ended when the beauty fell in love unwittingly with the leader of the revolt, they were very happy together . Star had promised to visit soon, Nightwings thoughts were interrupted however when his communicator went off

"YO Nightwing dawns approaching time to head in, everything's quiet tonight"

"All right Cy, I'll be home in …"

His sentence was interrupted however as he watched a bright light collide with a hill on the far side of the city

"CYBORG! THERE WAS A CRASH"

"Yea I got it we'll all be there ASAP"

With that the five titans took off from their respective positions towards the wreckage and within minutes they all converged the flames had died down and the team had all set about looking for survivors, it was Raven who emerged with the limp body of a seemingly pregnant woman, it was only when Cyborg shone his light on the woman that it was evident it was Starfire, she began to stir and holding her head she opened her eyes just as Beast Boy and Terra came running up

"There was no one else in the thing, Changeling and I checked it all Twice"

"Thanks Terra"

"Dude Next time you fly try land…….. STARFIRE!!!!!!!"

A stunned Terra had to contain Changeling from lunging at the alien girl and quite literally giving her a bear hug. Raven knelt down by their friend as she awoke and was the first to speak

"What happened?" Starfire had not opened her eyes yet for her head was throbbing and she was afraid that the light shining down upon her would only make things worse

"You crashed Star, but looks like you'll be ok"

The Tamaranian girls face visibly brightened and she allowed herself a peak at the familiar sounding voice to her side she smiled when it was indeed her dark cloaked friend. Knowing then that the light was coming from a certain half metal half human she smiled again

"Cyborg"

"Yea Star?"

"Could you please kill the light?"

Cyborg blushed and did as his friend asked now Star could open her eyes and look around at the faces she knew so well and see what a few years time had done to them. Cyborg still looked pretty much the same, just a little more mature looking, Beast boy, was taller and looked like he had gained quite a mass of muscle, his hair was just a bit longer and still unruly as ever. Raven was almost exactly the same, save her hair was longer, and Terra...

"TERRA!!!"

Starfire leapt up and engulfed the small blonde in one of her famous hugs

"Hi Star" she managed to squeak out between gasping for breaths

"But how?? You were a figurine last time I saw you"

Star let Terra free from the hug

"Cyborg's father helped cure me along with some of Ravens magic Nightwing tried to explain it all to me but its all too complicated for me"

Star had a blank expression on her face

"Nightwing? Then the Rackmas did happen?"

Nightwing stepped up and looked his friend in the eyes

"No stars were all still together, I just outgrew the "robin" name and took on Nightwing, looks like you have some news for us too?"

He pointed to the small bulge in Stars belly, star blushed in return

"Yes I do have much tot ell everyone, but could we not converse somewhere warmer, Its colder than gelfores snorfoxpiex surprise out here


	2. a sad story indeed x2

A/N thank you nevermoretheraven for reviewing, and nah, its not that far ahead, besides I wouldn't be that mean to BB. Again don't expect any pairings except for maybe some mention of past relationships, but I'm getting ahead of myself by a long shot.

The team all headed back to Titans tower Beastboy was having quite a time trying to explain to Starfire that He outgrew being called Beastboy and was going by the name changeling

"But I do not understand, I thought Beastboy was your name, you can simply change it? Didn't your parents object?" Star was still very confused but Changeling gave it one last shot

"Star" he began gently "My parents died a long time ago, Beastboy was just my code name a nick name like when we call Raven Rae, and well I'm not exactly a boy anymore I'm 18 now. So ya know I thought Changeling sounded more mature..."

"Oh I do understand now, thank you bea... Changeling"

Changeling gave her a genuine smile filled with gratefulness and relief, he was about to start up another conversation when the car bulled in to the tower, everyone headed in save for Terra and Raven who had chosen to fly home, it was late in the year and such pleasant nights would be soon replaced with very cold ones, Happy their friend was back they all decided on the one thing they could all agree on for dinner, cheese pizza, Star had promised to tell them all about everything after dinner and a warm shower, a few hours passed and everyone was in the large common room each sitting comfortably on the large couch, except for Star she was sitting cross legged floating in the air in front of the group

"All right everyone it is time I tell you all my news" she started simply. Raven couldn't help but sense the nervousness coming from the little alien girl, and the sadness as well, and strangely enough hope, love and happiness were intermingled. This must have been some story. "I suppose it all started about 6 farspas ago" "farspas?" Changeling questioned "Oh I must apologize, umm, months six months ago. Faron, my husband had found out that the armies of Clearnox, lead by Blackfire planned to invade Tamaran some time soon. We simply could not allow that, so war was declared, and indeed Tamaran won after only three months, a most decisive victory, or so we thought, Blackfire had once declared that if she could not rule Tamaran then no one would. We thought it nothing more than an idle threat, life went on as normal and about a month after the war Faron and I found out that I was carrying a little life inside me, we were joyous and all of Tamaran celebrated, everything was fine until last week when Backfire's threats became real and with very little warning, only a day she destroyed my home planet, I'm not sure how many of my people were able to escape or even if Faron himself escaped, he had insisted that I leave, he said he would meet me on earth soon, I hope he's all right" she trailed off on the verge of tears

The group was stunned and they sat there in silence for long seconds Raven broke the silence by crossing the room and placing her hand on Starfire's shoulder "We all do star"

"I'm sure he's fine Star" Robin added with the rest of the group murmuring their agreement

"I wish to rest now" Star stated stifling a yawn "I trust my bed chamber is as I left it?"

"Uhh yea of course it is Star just like we promised" Cyborg finally found his voice, he had been busy trying to comprehend a who planet, possibly population being wiped out, it was mind boggling and for his friend his gleefully innocent friend up until then to have to witness that, he decided something was wrong with the universe with a sigh he announced he was heading to bed as well, very soon everyone else was asleep save for two, Raven on the roof, and Robin in the training room, neither of them could manage a wink of sleep while sad for their friends loss they were sad for their own loss, Starfires being pregnant brought up bitter sad memories for the two, it was after all just about two years ago this month it all happened

It had been a easy day for our heroes and everyone was at peace including the now white clad raven, they had defeated Trigon just over a year ago, and just as they thought they had lost raven when with a final burst of power incinerating the monster and the resulting fires seemingly engulfing their friend they had never felt so helpless in all their lives but then to their amazement she rose. Raven rose from the ashes cleansed of the evil that once inhabited her, she now was in her white cloak, it symbolized on the outside the purity inside, it hadn't been long after that when she and Robin began spending more time together, Raven finally able to revel in her feelings was falling for the boy wonder and so was he for her, it was almost a year to the day Trigon was defeated that Raven had discovered she was with child, she was to tell everyone all together that night, Robin didn't even know yet,

Raven planned the whole day, Window shopping, then Pizza for lunch, a movie then at home in the tower she would make a cake and write the message out on it, showing Robin first then taking it to the others, everything was to be done as a group, the city had been quiet lately so crime fighting was far out of their minds. They hadn't gotten as far as main street window shopping when a alarm went off and all of a sudden in front of the team was Cinder Block yet again, they all fell into formation instinctively, raven staying behind the group she wasn't going to risk getting too close to the beast, she knew the risk was too great, the fight had been long and hard and in one instant raven saw robin being thrown building to building by the beast, he had thrown the now unconscious boy wonder through the air and summoning her powers raven reached to save him, and in that very instant cinderblock took the chance to slap raven into a building, she fell unconscious but the damage had been done, when she awoke she was in Titans towers med facility, she vaguely felt the pain in her stomach which had taken the brunt of the force her eyes widened in despair

"bout time you woke up" Cyborg strolled in the concerned look on his face evident

"Cyborg" Raven sat up holding her tender belly, she noticed that cy wasn't meeting her eyes

"Yea Rae?"

"The ba." She couldn't finish her sentence but she didn't need to he already knew the question, he just shook his head a silent no

"Did Robin know?"

"No, I was going to tell everyone tonight, how did you know?"

"Showed up during all the testing I did, I haven't said anything to Rob, I figured since he didn't immediately ask that he didn't know"

"Didn't Know what?"

"Robin" raven breathed and then the tears began falling, Robin of course ran to her and started comforting her, she told him everything and soon he was crying as well, only after Cyborg insisted that he leave and let raven rest had Robin left her, he directly slammed his fist into the nearest wall Beastboy who had been coming to visit raven only looked wide eyed and slightly alarmed at the action then worry hit him

"Is Raven ok?'

"She'll be fine" he said harsher than he would have liked "but we lost the baby"

"Baby? What baby?": realization dawned on the little green man and his face fell

"Dude I'm so sorry"

Robin stormed off after that he hadn't even realized he had wanted a child and before he even knew he had one on the way it had been taken from him it was too much to bear, for both he and Raven, that singular event marked the end of their relationship, well their romantic relationship anyways, it was just too painful for them, it also was the exact moment that raven once again became the sullen girl dressed in the dark cloak, and to this day she still wore it, her biting sarcasm back and her deadpan voice all returned it was a sad day indeed none of the other titans dared mention it, and while Raven and robin were both happy for their friend they were also haunted by what could have been

A/N I know I was mean to them and I know I promised no pairings but it isn't exactly a pairing more of a the exact moment they weren't a pair anymore? That should be just about it for the sad part of the story, the next few should deal with stars condition, tamatanian cravings ya know, hope the titans have loads of mustard! LOL


	3. just an ordinary morning

A/N again thank you nevermoretheraven, yea I'll add that mint icing for the pizza to the list :p well in all honesty this story isn't going where I want it to, its going where it wants to, that being said I'm trying to work a bit of comedy in but so far it isn't happening, but hopefully, like always please review when you finish reading, I appreciate all kinds of reviews even flames 

The mid autumn air was pleasant and the warm breeze ruffled Ravens cloak, she stood resting her head on her elbows on the ledge that came just a little past waist height, she gave up trying to meditate hours ago, it was no use tonight, not with all the thoughts racing through her mind she sighed and stared blankly at the bustling city in the distance, just across the water. She heard a door open and footsteps followed soon after, she could sense him as he crossed the distance between them, he also let his head rest on his hands, she didn't bother looking over, He was in all actuality the last person she wanted to see right now, but she could sense he had something on his mind something he wanted to say so sighing she finally acknowledged his presence.

"Nightwing"

It never ceased to amaze him the way she could sense an individual's aura , he cocked his head to the side so he could look at her, he had no doubt she wouldn't return his gaze until she found it necessary

"You're up early, or should I say late?"

"I could say the same of you" she didn't bother turning and her voice betrayed no hint of emotion, he expected as much but oddly enough it was still hard to get used to he dearly missed the emotive Raven he had the pleasure of knowing for two good years

"I" he started off very slowly as if the words were having trouble finding themselves out "I couldn't sleep"

"I know wing I couldn't either" She sighed "what's wrong with me? I should be happy for star"

"You mean you're not?"

"No, I mean that's not what I mean I am happy for her it's just"

"I know Rae, I know" he went to put his arm around her a comforting gesture on his part but she shrugged it off and moved away, Nightwing sighed, he had tried so hard in the beginning to comfort Raven but she would have none of it, she had been the one to push him away but she never gave a explanation. He had decided right about then that it was far too dangerous to get involved with anyone again, not as long as he was a crime fighter the risks were too high, he too had become distant and it took nearly a year before Raven would talk to him in anything but a professional manor, they had reacquired their best friend status but raven wouldn't allow anything deeper than that he let out a sigh

"The others will be up soon, I'm going to make breakfast, I'm sure Star will be famished" and so raven left the roof and entered the tower leaving Nightwing to brood alone and finish watching the sun rise

In the kitchen Raven was searching the fridge, she wanted to make Starfire's first breakfast home special, while keeping in mind everyone's special dietary needs in mind, she took out the eggs, and the fake eggs for beast boy, bacon, tofu bacon and a whole range of other yummy edibles, staring at her now complete feast she thought something seemed off some how, after glaring at the cooling food for what seemed like ages but in all reality was only a few seconds in an inspired moment she scooped a nice portion of eggs from the main tray onto their own small plate. Next she fished out the mustard and some shredded cheese from the fridge, she squeezed the yellow liquid onto the eggs then topped them with some of the cheese, deciding melted would be better she set the plate in the microwave and allowed just enough time for melting, after all she may be "nuking: the eggs but she didn't want to turn them into a heaping plate of ash, removing the plate she noticed her whole team sitting around the table looking anxiously towards raven and more pointedly at the heap of food she had made, she floated the offerings to the table and sat the mustard and cheese covered eggs over to star who let out a cry of joy at the mere scent of the now hot mustard

"Raven may I have the rest of the mustard as well, I'm rather thirsty"

"Of course star" The mustard was floated to the alien girl and as star took a long drink of the tangy yellow substance Terra was astounded and the look of utter disgust on her face caused a chuckle from Raven

Tired and inexplicably not hungry Raven poured some tea and left the room, she didn't retreat to her bedroom but into the large library, as tired as she was she knew it was no use trying to sleep until she could meditate and clear her mind, and a good book may just be the trick to soothing her mind and calming the thoughts so she could meditate. Back in the kitchen Cyborg had noticed Raven leaving and Nightwing had finally come down from the roof to join them for breakfast, Cyborg noted the tired worn look on his friends face, his mask did hide much of his face, but knowing the young man for as many years as he had he could decipher anything that would be lost under the mask by an outsider.

When breakfast was through Cyborg asked BB and terra to do the dishes, Star who was expecting whines and complaints and possibly a few dozen animal forms making cute faces to try and get out of the chore was shocked when he simply nodded terra simply began clearing the table

Cyborg pulled Nightwing into his work shop, he knew something was bothering his dark friend, more than usual anyways

"What's up cy?"

"Something botherin ya little man?"

The masked eyes grew wide in surprise, he thought of denying it but decided that wasn't the best rout to take, the truth was always best

"yea"

"care to talk about it?"

"no not right now, now I need sleep"

Cyborg nodded knowing that his friend would come to him if and when he wanted to talk, he allowed Nightwing to leave and he began working on his secret project, he'd been at it for a year and a half now, no one knew about it but he wanted to set things right, and to do that he needed this machine, elsewhere in the tower Starfire who had become bored because of the various activities undertaken by her friends had began wandering around the tower, she came across a dusty table in a under used nook of a hall, on the table sat a picture album, she began flipping through it, obviously this was from the time she had been gone, intrigued she closed the book and flew to her room sitting herself and the book down on her bed she began flipping through, absently she wished for a large mushroom pizza with mint frosting, sardines, clams, potatoes, candy corn, and jelly beans, perhaps that's what they would have for lunch

A/N that's all for now just felt like the stopping point for this chapter to me, please review!


	4. the photo albums

A/N Once again nevermoretheraven thank you for your review, and yea I'd appreciate that tons, hmm thanks for the idea, as for everyone else please review at the end of the chapter I'm open to suggestions, and I appreciate my reviewers immensely, flames are good for marshmallows )

Starfire sat on the bed comfortable in the rather too large pajayamas she had come across last night. She had a small smile on her face as she looked through the album. It was after all something to do to keep her mind off of her home planet Tamaran and its untimely demise. She wondered about any of her people that had escaped. What could they be up to right now, they must surely be forlorn and with no way of making the pudding of sadness. She sighed as she turned a page "Oh Faron are you safe? You should have come by now"

she would have dwelt on the feelings overwhelming her had a photo not caught her eyes the photo was surely one of Changeling or Cyborg's pranks as the parties involved were obviously asleep, The two in the photo were Raven who was snugly wrapped up in Robins arms, but that wasn't what caught her eye Changeling and terra had caught her up earlier this morning on all that had happened in her time away, the date on the corner was the main draw of her attention from everything she had been told this was the date Robin and Raven had broken up, it must have been just before what ever tragedy happened to cause the split.

Star regarded the picture a little longer, something seemed amiss although she couldn't figure it out just now, for whatever reason the shadows in the room in the dim morning light seemed oddly sinister, giving up on any thoughts of figuring out the photo she turned the page only to find that was the last one in the book, why had no one finished the album of photos? There was over half the book left to put amusing and funny photos and add silly captions, she would surely ask Cyborg after lunch.

In the library Raven had given up all hope of reading her book and has long since given in to watching the perpetual motion machine in the corner, she'd watch as one ball would swing out then come back to strike the ball it sat next to, the preceding three balls never seemed to waiver but none the less the ball on the other side would swing out and the cycle would repeat, so lost in watching the device she had become that she didn't even notice herself falling asleep. Nightwing on his way to his room stopped briefly noticing the soft glow of the library lamps on, mumbling something about Changeling needing to learn how to turn the lights off he froze when he saw Raven dozing on the large couch that was provided, he hadn't seen her sleep in nearly two years and what he saw took him by complete and udder surprise.

Raven's cloak was white while she slept, she was at peace when not in the waking world, her dreams must be surely of the past or of their child he presumed, he began to feel extremely sad for his friend, She could be that way awake if she'd just allow him, or someone close again, what was she so afraid of during the day? While to the other titans Raven appeared as she always had, Nightwing knew better, during the first few days after the tragedy Raven had confided in him once and only once that she was afraid, of who or what she wouldn't tell, as the breakdown had been a weak moment and passed as quickly as it had come, his emotions were getting very strong so strong indeed that he noticed raven beginning to stir, he slipped out of the library and retreated to his room, thankfully he didn't hear Raven cry out or her cloak turn the tale tale red that accompanied her rage, she was dreaming of cinderblock and more specifically of tearing the beast limb from limb. A window somewhere in the tower broke Cyborg had happened to be passing by when it happened he heaved a sigh "I'm coming to fix it all Rae, just hold on a bit longer gal"

The mechanical man was soon back in his lab and again puzzling at the little disc shaped machine he had made, something wasn't right about it he knew that much but for whatever reason he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He sighed again, remembering back to when the dark girl had confided in him confessed that she could feel the evil in her growing daily, and what was worse if her rage were to peek it could reawaken Trigon, he remembered the disbelief that lingered in his eyes and the sincerity and true fear that lingered in Ravens, she hadn't even trusted Nightwing with this information, what was more for his own safety she began pushing him away, Cyborg had promised then and there that He would find a way to make everything OK, he had cried when Raven made him promise to end her life if his project had failed, He agreed after weeks of careful thought and coaxing from Raven, She had to show him through a mental connection the Rage she was fighting day to day Raven was winning for now but each day she became a little weaker if only minutely over time the dwindling strength she had to fight mentally would prove enough for the rage to take control, Her father would awaken and the world would be doomed, reluctantly he had agreed and raven had smiled at him, a genuine rare smile that hadn't been seen from the girl in months

Changeling and Terra had long since finished cleaning up and were looking about the tower for Star, Changeling wanted to find Star so he could get out of shopping with Terra and spend some quality time with the Game station and Cyborg, Crime in the city was at an all time high despite the titans valiant efforts, Their counterparts in Titans East were keeping crime in the suburbs down as best as they could but Slade had once again become active, and all clues were leading to Brother Blood being involved as well, but so far today it was quiet and none of that mattered, the only fighting The green man wanted to do was his new game "mega monkeys 9" it was of course a legal non bootlegged copy, he had learned his lesson, as he searched for the red headed girl, Star searched for another album to look at, she smiled when se found a familiar one on the same table she had found the first, retreating to her room she again flipped through the pages she stopped and sighed when she came across a picture of the time Blackfire had visited

"Oh sister why must you do such mean things? First you framed me and would have had me arrested in your place, then you returned to Tamaran and overthrew our parents only to fake an invasion and try to marry me to that big slug thing, and now she sighed near tears Now you've destroyed our home world and I fear for my people and my dear Faron, I do hope he is well

Else where in the city a blazing blue light shot across the sky and crashed just outside of Titans East, Aqualad, who had outgrown that name and now referred to himself as Tempest, and Speedy ran instantly to see what the trouble was when they found a man, Obviously Tamaranian judging from hair color and skin color but he was unconscious, not knowing what else to do the two picked up the alien and immediately he was in their med facility being cared for, his injuries were great but as far as they could tell he would make it through, satisfied that he was stable sis the only logical thing he could think of He contacted Nightwing

A/N that's all for chapter 4 nevermoretheraven you have kept me inspired thank you alot


	5. Small revelations

A/N as always thank you nevermoretheraven, its still writing its self so to speak but the plot is finally emerging (thankfully) anyways on with the show, so to speak )

Slade sat in his chair strumming his fingers he was bored and annoyed his latest attack two days ago had as always been thwarted by those bothersome Titans. What was worse was that incompetent associate of his Brother Blood. Mind control powers may he have but his students of the former hive academy had failed yet again, Slade detested failure, oh well at any rate the failure didn't rest on his shoulders this time

"Gizmo Jinx come here" His voice never faltered or showed any signs of emotions at all, a fact Jinx hated, he always seemed cool and collected and was always thinking two steps ahead, Gizmo although not as short as he once was, Stood facing Slade mumbling insults under his breath, he may have grown but definitely hadn't matured.

"You have failed me again,"

"It was those scrung munchin' Titans again" Gizmo stated rather matter of factly, Jinx was quite impressed with her counterpart, he never showed any fear towards that masked psycho man, a fact she couldn't say her self, she feared him because she could not read his emotions, that and the fact that her powers didn't seem to work on him

"No excuses, you failed, that's twice one more time and"

"You'll do nothing to my student's Slade"

"Ah Brother Blood, Nice of you to join us" the masked eye of Slade narrowed, he hated having to be partners with anyone, let alone that self righteous man. But it was a necessary evil at this point in time

"If you touch my students I walk then where would your world domination be, hmmm"

"You needn't remind me, it is my plan after all" the sound of anger was slowly seeping into Slade's voice, this caused Jinx to cringe inwardly, but only inwardly she couldn't remember seeing Slade mad, this couldn't be a good thing at all

"Yea enough with the dramatics boys, why not play nice, after all the sooner we complete the mission the sooner was free to part company huh?"

"Yes jinx very well" Brother Blood was the first to acquiesce Slade stood there quietly for a long moment in time

"Indeed, but soon we squash the Titans, Have you gathered enough followers to start the awakening of the beast?"

"Yes, but we still need the girl, but all in due time eh? Have you put that block head of yours together yet?'

"He is nearly complete, my workers say it'll be roughly two weeks then cinderblock will rise again and he will crush the titans at my will, Nightwing will either become my apprentice or he will watch his friends suffer and die one by one, that traitor Terra first"

Slade had turned his back during his little rant and hadn't noticed everyone else had left the room, Slade heaved a sigh and fell heavily into his chair, smashing a nearby tea cup with his hand, His trusty butler was of course right there to clean the mess and promptly replace the cup with a new one filled with fresh tea

In another room Jinx and Gizmo sat preparing for their nightly routine of scouting for the Titans and engaging them when needed or when they got too close to the abandoned warehouse where everything was taking place, Jinx pulled a familiar looking deep blue Cloak from her bag

"Ah crud you're going again??"

"Yes I have to tell them what's happening, Don't worry I'll be back before its time to patrol, cover for me ok?"

"Whatever!" Gizmo folded his arms and turned away from the taller pink haired girl, she untied her hair and slipped the cloak on, with the hood up she seemed to vanish into the coming twilight

"Thanks Giz"

With that Jinx was out the window and on her way to her destination, she was ever grateful that her powers and Gizmos tech kept their minds from being controlled let alone read by Brother Blood, if he knew what they were up to their fates would have been sealed long ago

Inside Titans tower a worried Starfire sat eating pickles and dipping them in a combination of mayonnaise and chocolate sauce, utterly disgusting to anyone but a pregnant Tamaranian. She felt really homesick for her planet, her people and most of all her husband Faron; He should have contacted her by now. The blinking light and unmistakable ringing of the communications line ringing brought the group to the common room, Nightwing answered and was pleased to see the face of his friend Tempest, but the smile on his face immediately dropped when he noticed the serious look on his face.

"What is it Tempest?"

"Night wing we have something you guys might wanna come and see"

Starfire stepped forward

"Aqualad you too have chosen to change the name of nick?"

"My nick name? Uhh yea, I didn't know you were back, you might wanna come too, I think you may find this interesting"

With everything settled the team headed off to titans east and whatever mystery Tempest may have in their little light house that served as a their Titans tower, Elsewhere in the City Jinx met up with her rendezvous, her Cloak flapping in the wind mingled with his long dark cape being whipped in the wind as well.

AN- the plot thickens eh? Please review thanks so much for reading, and thank you once again nevermoretheraven!!!


	6. two strangers, a fallen star and why rav...

A/N lol its cool nevermoretheraven I've gone on reviewing stints myself, after all how many times can you say "good story" or "great work" after all,? I'm attempting chapter 6 now so here goes ) oh and just to try and bribe you non reviewers out there, it is my habit to read and review the work of my reviewers, to me it's a professional courtesy. :P

Jinx stood atop the building waiting in silence with her caped companion they were waiting on one more, After all it was his job to keep an eye on the titans during the day. It wasn't long before the one in question silently bounded in he ran and stopped in front of the larger man

"Well?" the larger man was anxious to hear any news, and he wasn't much one for standing around doing nothing

"The Titans will be busy for most of the night I think, I followed them to that old light house" the younger, smaller boy was slightly out of breath from his rush back.

"Titans East" Jinx provided

"Oh?"

Jinx giggled

"I thought you knew everything, Titans East was established roughly three years ago, Tempest, Speedy, Bumblebee and a few others. They take care of the burbs while The Titans take care of the major part of the city"

The taller man stroked his chin deep in thought he soon nodded "Very smart of him good job Nightwing; Jinx so is our little friend who I think he is?"

"Its hard to tell but I'm beginning to think you were right, when I think back they both fight the same way, and they seem to think the same way as well, its as if they were both trained by the same person, but for whatever reason one went bad"

The mysterious man nodded a frown forming on his masked face.

"How much time until their plans unfold?"

"Brother blood simply needs the girl, his part is complete, Slade, he's two weeks from completion, but knowing him he'll put a rush on it"

"Do you know what girl Brother Blood was talking about?" the smaller caped teen spoke up

"I do, but your not gonna like it"

Inside Titans east the group had made their way into the med facilities a collective gasp escaping them as the injured individual on the table was very badly injured and hooked up to an assortment of machines reading his vitals. Star flew right to his side taking his hand in a easy motion.

"He is my husband. Faron"

With a nod and simple unspoken understanding everyone let star be alone with her husband, after a few hours it was time to go home, Star electing to stay by her husband's side.

Back at titans tower it was dinner time and Ravens night to cook, She whipped up a quick meal and set it on the table, grabbing a glass of milk she excused herself from the table saying she needed a bath and bed or else they all risked some seriously bad karma for putting her in a bad mood due to lack of said sleep as Raven left it struck Nightwing, He couldn't remember the young woman eating anything in the past week he would have to talk to her about this and soon, it just wasn't healthy. As Nightwing looked across the table he noticed the similar look of concern in Cyborg's human eye with a nod they both excused their selves from the table and headed for Ravens room, Cyborg of course having a slightly better understanding of what the girl was doing to herself, Nightwing simply thinking she was harming herself for some perceived sin she may have committed

As the two young men reached Ravens room they found her door slightly cracked. not an altogether unheard of thing but still very unusual. Neither wanting to disturb the silence that surrounded them but soon the sound of soft sobs floated past the young men's ears. Without even hesitating or knocking for that matter Nightwing quietly opened the door and slid in soon followed by Cyborg. The two studied the dark room for signs of the dark girl, she could have been completely lost in the shadows had it not been for the small desk lamp that gave a soft glow, thus giving her away, She of course had heard and sensed the two come in and so had quieted herself , she hadn't looked up or even in their general direction, her sole thought at the moment was to put the letter she had been writing away until it could be finished, and god forbid found in the event that….

Her thoughts were interrupted by a pair of strong hands on her shoulder. Thankfully she had put the letter away in time and unnoticed

"Raven, are you ok?" Nightwing's voice was concerned

"I'm fine" she managed out thankfully her voice betraying none of her rampant emotions just now

"Rae Nightwing and I need to talk to you, were worried"

In all honesty she knew they had every right o be worried, she knew the two had surely picked up on her behavior during the past few weeks, she was physically and mentally exhausted so she simply nodded and walked over to her bed, she turned on a small standing lamp on her way giving the room just enough illumination to see the way. She sat on her bed back against the wall she slid her hand up the familiar wall and found her light switch, the room instantly became fully lit, and in all actuality a little too bright for any of their liking. Now they understood why Ravens room was always so dark, funny none of them had thought to ask before. Once Nightwings eyes adjusted to the blinding light he gave Raven a quick once over, He noticed how pale and worn her face looked, the dark circles under her eyed marked little sleep, but what struck him was how small and frail she looked now, "how long has it been since you've eaten?" he found himself wondering out loud, had the situation at hand not been so serious he would have felt awful for his sharp tone or the fact that he had blurted it out so tactlessly

Raven considered what to tell carefully before finally settling on the truth, after all with such a short time possibly left for the girl why bother to start lying now, with a sigh Raven looked up at the two one by one Cyborg looking very big brotherly in her mind and Nightwing, He had resumed the air of concerned boyfriend she hadn't sensed those strong emotions from him in two years. And she felt relieved for a moment and only a moment that feeling she knew would shatter when she told them.

"Three weeks" it was stated so simply and with such conviction one would think she was speaking of nothing more than the last time she took the trash out, Raven sank a little both mentally and physically as she saw both her friends eyes widen in shock and fear, she braced herself waiting on the onslaught of lectures and questions she knew were coming."

The expected tirade didn't immediately follow, but instead a long uneasy silence, Cyborg was busy processing this current bit of news with all that he already knew and he frowned realizing it could mean only one thing, he was about to start asking questions when he was beaten to the punch by Nightwing, The dark young man's mind had frozen in fear when Raven had answered he had never actually entertained the thoughts that he may actually lose her in the physical sense, he had lost her two years ago, but she was physically there and had once again trusted him as her friend, but now he may actually lose her, the shakiness of his voice startled himself "Why" the question hung in the air for several seconds before Raven decided to answer.

"I'm weakening myself. In a few weeks you'll be glad for this; it'll make it all a bit easier when the time comes"

"it'll make what easier" She seemed to be confirming Nightwings greatest fears, he thought her suicidal, if he only knew the truth, he was now so scared that he fell to his knees and found himself leaning on Ravens bed, hands pulling at his long hair as he spoke to the girl, tears began falling, he couldn't help but think it was all his fault, a few weeks. Did she have the date set?? "Please Raven don't do it, please don't kill yourself it wont solve anything"

Raven blinked, was that what he was thinking? Well after all what else was he to think her behavior didn't much speak anything else than the logical conclusion he had drawn, she thought long and hard before reaching out to him, she gently stroked his hair with her own fragile hand a small gentle smile on her face

"I'm not going to kill myself bird boy. Cyborg will"

"WHAT???" his voice was incredulous and his eyes darted back and forth between the two

"It's true, I promised Raven I would, but it's not going to come to that. I won't let it"

A/N that's chapter 6 I'll admit not much plot wise but this chappie was necessary, next chapter should be slightly better and I'll reveal the two mystery men on the roof with Jinx, plus a bit more star and Faron (who btw I made up but will play a minor role in the fic so that's why I haven't done much with him yet, he's more of a sub plot . as always please review and thank you for reading


	7. The dark man cometh

A/N chap 7 up and running MAJOR A/N at the end oh yea it's a long chapter soz on that

The three stayed in silence for what was in all reality only a few seconds, but to them felt like eternity, the silence was broken as a certain green someone and a certain blonde poked into the room they had been walking by when Nightwings outburst caught their attention, they let their curiosity get the better of them, they soon wished they hadn't, Terra's mouth was agape with shock and her eyes showed confusion and sadness, Changeling simply looked completely crestfallen and heartbroken he had unshed tears in his eyes the two went unnoticed until changeling couldn't take it any longer

"But why? Cy why are you going to……… to kill Raven? She's our friend, why Raven why would you let him?" he barely managed to choke out

The green mans eyes searched everyone in the room for answers as Terra did the same, she was at a loss for words, a noteworthy occasion on any other day, Her eyes finally resting on Raven and a involuntary gasp escaping her as for the first time in weeks she could see Ravens uncloaked form, The once toned young woman was really nothing more than skin and bone Terra let her eyes drop to the floor silently cursing herself for not noticing earlier, a few angry tears escaping her as her fists clinched at her side

"He will kill me because I asked him to" Raven's voice sounded tired and worn, but the conviction was strong

"NO HE WON'T I WON'T LET HIM!"

"EITHER WILL I"

Changeling and Nightwing stepped protectively between Raven and Cyborg to emphasize their points, Raven sighed

"Yes you will, for the good of the earth, yes you will"

"WHAT?" three voices chorused in unison and disbelief.

Tired of the stares and slightly cold Raven grabbed her cloak and slipped it on, sighing at the instant warmth that came with it.

"All of you sit down; I guess its time to tell you everything..."

Atop the jump city roof Jinx sat Indian style laying out an assortment of blueprints and notes she had gathered all entailing the plot of Slade and Brother Blood

"All right here's what I have so far. Brother Blood wants to bring this demon guy back"

"Trigon" the dark man added

"Right, well in order to do that he's been performing all these strange rituals and unfortunately they have all worked, the demon guy has a body now he just lacks a spark from one of his children that's where the girl comes in but the thing is it has to be on the full moon in a week"

"Raven" Jinx nodded at the youth

"So where does Slade come in?"

"Well Batman, you see in order to get the girl Brother Blood needs Cinderblock, It seems she only comes out to "play" as Slade puts it when that blockhead is the one causing trouble 'bout a year ago She totally destroyed the thing, Slade's been reconstructing it ever since, Slade figures he can use Raven as a bargaining chip to get Nightwing to join him, I swear that man has a one track mind, why is he so obsessed with getting Bird boy to be his side kick anyways"

The last part was more to herself, but it received an answer all the same.

"To get to me, I Kicked him out of the bat cave and Nightwing left willingly and on good terms, he figures if he gets Nightwing to join him he can get to me. The kid blames me for his girlfriend's death, He only wants Nightwing to sacrifice something I care for in front of me, and he wants me to have the same helpless feeling he did when I couldn't save his girlfriend"

Jinx's jaw had dropped all the new information

"There was another Robin, before Nightwing?"

"Yes, but I thought the joker had killed him, that is until Slade showed up a few years ago and began tormenting Robin, heh ironic isn't it, Almost as if slades fighting himself" The dark night mused

"No not like he's fighting himself, like he's fighting what he could have been, what he should have been, what he resents every day that he didn't become" surprisingly it was the young Robin that spoke up

Batman nodded stroking his chin thoughtfully "well we're going to intervene; it's my job to set this right. Jinx you get back before they notice you're gone, Robin and I have a few old friends to chat with"

With a nod everyone set off Batman and Robin towards the giant T in the bay and Jinx back to the warehouse. Back in the tower Raven was laying everything out for the three. She was just getting to the part about why she made Cyborg to promise what he had when the alarm went off signaling someone in the tower that shouldn't be. Without a word the team set to action Ravens hood went up. Cyborg readied his sonic cannon. Changeling shifted into a tiger. Terra's eyes glowed yellow ready to take on whoever it was invading their tower, And Nightwing pulled out his bird-a-rang. Cyborg pointed to his censors and the team nodded Silently they all descended to the Common room when they were finally there to their surprise the intruder was not hiding and most definitely not causing trouble. After a stunned few seconds of silence everyone put their various toys and powers away, Nightwing stepped up to the trespasser, eyes wide with confusion

"Batman? Robin? What are you doing here??" he mused to himself how strange it sounded still calling someone else Robin"

"There's a problem and it involves Raven" Being one who was short and to the point he didn't waste any small talk but the immediate defensive stance that all members took around the dark cloaked girl caused his eyes to widen, an expression of questioning on his masked face, something that wasn't lost on the bright youth that now wore the green, red, and yellow of the Robin outfit.

"What's going on here??" His tone had taken on a bit of Batman's directness during his few years with the dark knight.

"Who has a problem with Raven" Nightwing's voice was authoritive much like his mentors, his tone didn't show it but his eyes echoed concern a fact that wasn't lost on the dark knight"

"Slade and Brother Blood"

The group gasped and Ravens eyes had widened as it all began to make sense to her, She stepped forward through her protectors

"They need me to reawaken my father" it was more of a comment than a question, her voice was as steady as Batman's , The caped crusader nodded before fixing his gaze on the face under the hood, he frowned at the girl and in one smooth motion he had pulled her cloak off. His eyes narrowed at the girl who was simply in shock she had to will her powers back lest she send the bat to flying

"You've known for a while haven't you?" he never took his eyes off of her tired face handing her cloak back she slipped it on as she answered the dark man

"I have"

"And that's why you're starving yourself?" this was one part of the equation he didn't understand"

"Yes, but you see its not as simple as requiring my presence and saying "wake up" he actually has to" Raven shuddered and cast her eyes down, a nearby vase exploded Nightwing stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder

"Has to what?" he said very gently

"We have to become one. But that cant happen if it does I'll have to be destroyed You'll have to destroy me Promise me you will" "her voice was urgent and pleading

Cyborg stepped up and placed his hand on her other shoulder she looked over to him

"It's not gonna come to that Rae, I've been working on something, its just about finished too, if I could just figure out….."

Cyborg trailed off trying to once again mentally figure out the device once again something in it just wasn't right"

"Can I look at it?" Batman's voice brought them all out of their various states of consciousness

"uh yea" with that Cyborg and Batman walked out of the room soon followed by Robin. Raven sighed and collapsed where she stood the small amount of energy she had expended causing the vase to shatter had drained her Nightwing caught her and allowed her to steady herself before letting go of her, when again she fell he simply scooped her up and set her on the sofa, Changeling and Terra sat beside her obviously concerned

"Raven, are you ok?' Terra's voice was filled with concern for her friend she sighed when Raven didn't answer, nodding she simply sat there in companionable silence figuring that the empathy would speak when ready Changeling however couldn't stand it

"Raven what are you doing to yourself!! Don't you know it's dangerous??"

"I know Gar but its better than what can happen I have to do this, if I'm not weak then I'm not sure Trigon can be defeated this time"

Changeling was about to retort when Nightwing came in with a bowl of soup and a few crackers he sat them on Ravens lap and set himself on the coffee table facing her

"Eat" this was more of an order than anything, but the undertones in his voice were unmistakable When Raven made no move for the spoon or crackers he folded his arms and narrowed his eyes, he could be just as stubborn as she could "Eat" knowing she was defeated and that if she didn't start eating changeling and terra would get involved Raven picked up the spoon and began to sip the warm broth vegetable beef her favorite.

A/N sorry for the loneness and lack of Starfire as promised but like I said this thing is writing it's self. Confused about Slade? Yes I am making Slade a former Robin, but as to which Robin you'll have to wait and see, well obviously it isn't Tim but anyways I'm trying to figure a way to make who Slade is make sense timeline wise, but hope you are enjoying the story and please review, I review for my reviewers so if that helps bribe you any, and thanks to nevermoretheraven I know if I hadn't posted the update so soon you'd already have a review for chap 6


	8. in the night

A/N NEW REVIEWER! YAY Evil rain cloud YOU rule thanks so much for the review and the e-mail and our nice msn chat, I promise I'll log back in to msn again soon, and as always thank you nevermoretheraven. Now fair warning I'm changing HUGE things up about which Robin was first, this is fan fiction after all, still no idea where the story is going as I make plans and begin writing the story takes me in a different direction, OH yes before I forget. Thanks to my wonderful beta RedRoomFlare. You rock fee! hugs oh between the dotted lines is a flash back although that's apparent in the story.

Slade paced the floor irritated to put it mildly. His workers were behind schedule and that monstrosity of his Cinderblock was supposed to be put back together by now. The warehouse being empty at the moment Slade took out his aggression on a near by pillar. Shattering it with a single punch he grunted in annoyance and sat back on his "throne" as it were. In all actuality it was just an old chair that had been set on a platform so he could over see operations. He began drumming his fingers on the arm of the chair.

"I will have my revenge" He thought out loud.

-

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING JASON YOU COULD HAVE KILLED SOMEONE" Batman yelled annoyed at his young apprentice

"I WAS DOING MY JOB! IT'S NOT MY FAULT" the youth felt cornered and he would not stand there and take it.

Batman's eyes narrowed on his first sidekick the usually stoic man was infuriated to say the least, Alfred had attempted to come in and smooth the situation out but a sharp glare from the caped man and the ever faithful butler turned heel and went about tidying up the cave, the dark knight lowered his voice to a dangerous tone

"You were careless, you nearly got that little girl killed, and now you wont take responsibility, I don't know what's gotten into you lately Todd"

Jason Todd was seething he had tried something on his own and it worked perfectly, well almost perfectly, If the joker hadn't thrown that crowbar at that kid then his plan would have worked, in his opinion the bat just couldn't take the fact that maybe a teen was becoming his equal a cocky grin formed on the teens face.

"You're scared aren't you? Your scared I'll take your place and Gotham will forget about their precious bat" His voice was almost taunting his master Batman's eyes widened then narrowed at his apprentice

"What?" his voice was incredulous and a bit harsher than he would have intended normally "you have a lot to learn young man, we'll talk about this later" The Caped crusader turned to leave.

"Just what I thought, I've had enough of taking orders!" His voice was daring the Coweled man to try anything. When batman didn't turn around the youth saw his chance and he charged at the taller man. Batman dodged easily his senses being trained over many years but the young man wouldn't give up Bruce tried reasoning and talking with the misguided teen, Joker had put the seeds of doubt in his young charges head. Jason however would have none of it, He charged the tall man once again and was dodged again only reflexively the bat had grabbed and thrown the youth unfortunately for both of them Robin hit the corner of a piece of machinery head on the next thing the young man knew he was waking up in his bed eye bandaged a concerned Bruce Wayne watching over him

"Thank God your awake we were worried"

"Get out of here and leave me alone" The young boy growled in a tone that would eventually become his trademark -

"Oh yes I shall have my revenge Batman, I'll take that young pup Nightwing as my apprentice then lure you in and right before your eyes I'll crush him" Slade slammed his fist down on the chair arm emphasizing his point to the empty building

It was Night again and the tower was silent. save for the faint snore or two coming from the rooms of the various inhabitants. Two were awake however Raven, who couldn't sleep of late due to the growing evil presence she sensed across town. She knew of course exactly what it was, or who it was to be more exact. The fact she was needed to wake the beast was tormenting her. She never understood why he would haunt her as he did, he had lots of children what made her so special? She sighed and resumed cleaning the tower something nagging at the back of her mind. She mumbled to herself trying to bring it out as she cleaned silently. She was so occupied that she didn't realize she was being watched.

He watched Raven as she cleaned; being a creature of the night he was used to the being up in the wee hours of the morning. He leaned heavily on the door frame. He was pretty well hidden in the shadows, as the only light the young demoness had on was a small lamp in the far corner. Apparently she was as accustomed to the dark as he was. He regarded the small woman so unaware of his presence, he found this odd,Nightwing had told him several times how the empath could simply sense someone in the room. She must be extremely preoccupied to not. He of course knew why Raven was needed for the awakening. He had researched everything about Trigon when he found out Slade was involved in helping bring the demon back. Raven was unique amongst her siblings. None of the others had her exact powers or the ability to control them as she had learned to do. He broke out of his thoughts as he saw Raven write a brief note and begin to walk off. He could pretty much guess what she was doing

"Where do you think you're going?"

His voice startled her and a magazine flew off of the coffee table in response.

"Don't sneak up on me" She didn't bother turning, she knew the disapproval that would be written on his face

"He'll find you if you run, you know that don't you?"

Her head dropped visibly despite the dim light she sighed and let silence surround them for a few seconds

"If I stay, my friends will get hurt, and I cant bear for that to happen. I already put them through enough two years ago. Don't bother trying to stop me. I'm leaving all I have to do is stay gone until after the next full moon"

"He'll find you, you know that as well as I do"

"Yes I know and that's why I'm not running. I'm attacking before he is fully regenerated" Without another word Raven opened a portal and stepped through. Her eyes glowed white as a hand grabbed her wrist "Listen up Batman! if you don't wanna go flying then I suggest you let go!"

"Raven you can't go I cant lose you"

She blinked her eyes returning to normal. Her portal closed as she stepped out.

"Nightwing?"

A/N bad place to stop I know, I know and i'm sorry about that really i am but thats where inspiration went out th e window for the timne being! and I'm staying true to my word trust me this will not end up a romance fic, despite how it looks right about now, Please read and review and thanks for reading! 


End file.
